Elliot Lake building official never ordered mall inspection
Roger Pigeau tells collapsed mall inquiry he didn't follow up on concerns that mall wasn't watertight
A former chief building official for Elliot Lake says he knew about the issues at the Algo Center Mall, but says he was kept in the dark about the severity of them.
Roger Pigeau told the commission Monday morning that he knew the mall wasn't watertight and that there were problems with the parking structure. However during his nearly-20 year tenure as Elliot Lake’s chief building official, he didn't order a property standard inspection.
He said he trusted the owners had everything under control and didn't know the true condition of the building.
Pigeau said he was aware of the 1991 Trow engineering inspection conducted by the owner of the mall, Algocen Realty. But when he asked to see those reports, the owner refused to share the information. Pigeau added he never followed up on the suspicions that owners were hiding something from him.
Pigeau also said that, despite witnessing repair work being completed on the roof-top parking deck, the owners never applied to the city for the appropriate building permits.
Pigeau’s testimony was to continue throughout Monday.
It's been 9 months since a portion of the mall's roof collapsed, leaving two women dead.
Inquiry hearings in Elliot Lake will continue for several months.
Elliot Lake Inquiry schedule of testimony:
| Witness Name | Dates (subject to change) |
| Roger Pigeau, Former Chief Building Official, City of Elliot Lake | March 22 and 25 |
| Fred Bauthus, Former Chief Administrative Officer, City of Elliot Lake *Will only speak to the first period he acted as CAO, namely February 1990 to July 2000 | March 26, 2013 |
| Barbara Cloughley, Former Personnel Manager, Woolco, Former tenant of Mall | March 27, 2013 |
| Robert Leistner, Former General Manager and Vice President, Algoma Central Properties | March 27-28, 2013 |
| Warwick Perrin, President, Ontario Association of Property Standards Officer Inc. | April 2, 2013 |
| Larry Burling, Former Clerk, City of Elliot Lake | April 2, 2013 |
| Ken Snow, Former Maintenance Foreman, Algoma Central Properties and Retirement Living | April 3, 2013 |
| Paul Meyer, Structural Engineer, P. Meyer Engineering, hired by Algoma Central Properties | April 4, 2013 |
| Albert Celli, Engineer, Halsall | April 5, 2013 |
| Michael Buckley, Engineer, Halsall | April 8, 2013 |
| Jeff Truman, Engineer, Halsall | April 9, 2013 |
| Michael A. Luciw, Architect, Yallowega Bélanger | April 10, 2013 |
| Richard Quinn, Former Property Manager, Retirement Living | April 11, 2013 |
| Blaine Nicholls, Architect, formerly with Nicholls Yallowega Bélanger | April 16, 2013 |
| Richard Kennealy, General Manager, Retirement Living | April 17-18, 2013 |
| Rhona Guertin, Comptroller, Retirement Living | April 19-22, 2013 |